FFIX was amazing... It had everything I wanted in a Final Fantasy. Great characters, an entertaining story that spanned 4 discs, multiple flyable airships with an open world, a card game, chocobo mini games, weapon synthesis, optional super hard bosses, etc.

It is such an amazing game. I play it yearly, doesn't have multi-player but still manages to have tons of re-playability to it. Like you said everything in this game is done to perfection which is why it's my best game to date.